


Weatherstripping

by NairobiWonders



Category: Elementary (TV)
Genre: Comfort fic, F/M, Joanlock - Freeform, Post Season Six
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-01
Updated: 2017-10-01
Packaged: 2019-01-07 12:21:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12232719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NairobiWonders/pseuds/NairobiWonders
Summary: This takes place after season six, whatever happens in the upcoming season, they survive it and end up here. No angst, just fluff and comfort.





	Weatherstripping

Something roused her from her sleep. Eyes closed, Joan listened and then with a smile turned onto her side. This house creaked in a different voice. The brownstone had a set of familiar groans and crackles with which it welcomed winter. As old as the brownstone, perhaps even a little older, this house had a higher pitch to its whines; a more refined timbre to its groans than its Brooklyn counterpart.

He lay on his stomach in the middle of the bed, head resting more on her pillow than his, oblivious to the creaks. Through eyes that were themselves just barely free of sleep's haze, she watched him; Sherlock lay blissfully asleep beside her. The wind rattled the windows and she moved a little closer.

Sleeping together, sharing a bed just to sleep, was a result of his diagnosis. The uncertainty and the potential loss of what was unspoken but cherished, tore them open; anger, fears, disappointments, all spilled out and splattered on the floor between them one evening. Open and laid bare, Joan and Sherlock came to understand how alone and vulnerable the other felt. Pulling together towards a deeper union, they agreed, for the sake of the other, to stay within arms reach, physically and emotionally, to support rather than push away. Though awkward at first, sharing a bed soon enough became a habit, and remained a habit even though the crisis had long faded.

The cold whisper of the wind that had rattled the windows passed over them. Joan shivered and moved the blanket up to cover his shoulders. He stirred and muttered into the pillow, "I'll weatherstrip the windows tomorrow ..."

Though the house had been in their possession for over half a year, this was the first extended stay. The old Victorian had seen better days but it's location, isolated enough that the occasional explosion wouldn't upset the neighbors yet within driving distance of civilization, had lured them in. The rural setting meant the bees would flourish when they retired full-time and the house's many rooms gave them ample space to set up offices and perhaps even the long dreamed of laboratory. Having managed to survive through the trials of the past year, the house was a reward, a promise to each other of a future. 

She further adjusted the blanket to cover his neck and let her hand linger there. Sherlock opened his eyes, just as she closed hers. The small gestures of caring touched him the deepest. Watching her as she eased into sleep, he drew closer and lightly traced her jawline with his thumb. Joan opened her eyes to his. Her hand at his neck brought him closer, noses brushed and lips met in light caresses. She nuzzled into her place at the crook of his neck and he in hers. 

A few months after she moved back into the brownstone, they moved forward into a friends with benefits arrangement. Fully discussed, to occur when mutually practical and with a strict set of rules, sex between them was never romanticized; they did not make love, they had sex. Rationality aside, they found they were extremely compatible. She matched his wildness note for note and he had a tenderness that surprised her. Tonight would be the first night they made love.


End file.
